Posts Tagged ‘composting’

About a month ago, I had my dog Nanaline put to sleep. Today, I summoned the energy to bury her cremains.

I dug a hole on the right side of this baby gardenia bush and placed her ashes there. The remains of her sis, Bailey, are on the left side.

The remains of both dogs had been placed in a fancy wooden box. I threw away the boxes, preferring that their remains be able to disintegrate back into the earth. Even if I move, this yard was my dogs’ home and I’m happy with it being their final resting place.

So while I sat by the gardenia, contemplating the cycle of life, I couldn’t help but notice the fallen leaves that needed raking!

But before attempting that project, I decided it was past time to flip my compost piles.

Now is the time to admit that I’m a lazy composter. I throw sticks, leaves, food scraps and dead plants into my various piles. The rain will tamp the material down, then I add more. Once or twice a year, I’ll turn the piles.

The photo above is from one of my larger compost piles. It’s hard to see, but there’s some black gold in there!

I used a screen to separate out the already composted material from that which needs a little more time.

I then took the not-ready-for-prime-time material and placed it in a newly emptied bin.

I bagged up the compost to add to one of my beds that still awaits cover crop. My gardening work is never done!

I still have a few more piles to flip, so there will be some compost to place by the gardenia bush. And come spring, when the first white blossoms appear, I’ll once again sit by the bush, enjoy its fragrant flowers, and think happy thoughts about my dogs.